Support and Inclusivity

It is not only important to recruit talented underrepresented physicists to come to MIT, but also to support them so that they can succeed in their goals here. One way to achieve this with disproportionate impact is via mentoring, in both its formal and informal manifestations. Advising and support can be improved all around in the Physics Department, though we acknowledge with gratitude the important strides that have been made over the past few years. The hiring or appointment of additional staff focused on these issues may be particularly effective as well. We suggest the creation of guidebooks for students with insight into how to navigate our Department and academia as a whole, which would have particular benefit for current and prospective students from underrepresented backgrounds or colleges who may lack access to traditional networks. We also strongly recommend that the Department provide community-building, networking, and mentoring opportunities for underrepresented minority (URM) students, starting with the level of support the Department has provided women through GWIP, and eventually expand these efforts. 

Recommendations

 

Recommendation 12. (Immediate action requested)
That the Department encourage multiple-mentor models. That the Department encourage more active academic advising and coaching.

Having multiple mentors is important, especially for members of marginalized groups. The Department can help build these extra mentorships more naturally into physics graduate education in a number of ways.

First, we recommend the creation of a program with professional development, mentorship, and community-building events like the Stanford EDGE fellowship program, which serves URM and women physics Ph.D. students. Such a program could be run within the Physics Department or build community for underrepresented students across all departments in the School of Science, like at Stanford. 

Second, we strongly support the continuation of the Student Success Coaching Program, which provides advisors outside of the Department for students who opt in, even when academic activities at MIT are no longer in significant disruption due to COVID-19. Anecdotally, students feel that this program has filled important gaps in their mentor network.

Third, we recommend that the Department significantly expand the role of academic advisors, especially in the early years of graduate education. Meetings and check-ins should be far more often than once per semester; in the first year these check-ins should be biweekly, and then at minimum 2-3 times per semester in later years. This also provides students with a second close contact to approach if their relationship with their research advisor deteriorates. 

Fourth, in some divisions (particularly theory), students often express that they have difficulty finding research advisors. Given that multiple mentor models are considered best practice, but theory students often only have a single academic advisor during their first year, we recommend that Divisions provide students with the option for more structure when they first arrive. This could be accomplished in a number of ways, depending on the preferences of the division, such as: assigning a trial research advisor for the first year, providing research rotations, publicly posting a list of faculty with known openings in their research groups, or simply assigning students a second faculty point of contact in the Physics Department from their first semester until they permanently join a research group.

Finally, we reiterate our strong endorsement of the appointment of a graduate student advocate and hiring a staff member specifically dedicated to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Department.

Recommendation 13.
That the Department take steps to help individuals improve their research, teaching, advising, and mentoring practices.

Advising, teaching, and mentoring play a critical role in the development of physicists at every stage of their careers. This can be especially true for underrepresented physicists who may lack role models and face additional challenges compared to their peers. It is vital that our community members be able to fill these roles well.

We recommend that the Department develop and disseminate guidelines for best advising practices geared towards all types of mentors in the Department. Mentors should be educated as to how to best mentor and how to be an ally to marginalized students. Mentors could also discuss with mentees how to be successful at each stage of their careers; that is, what the expectations are for succeeding in graduate school and then later as a postdoc. This last point is briefly addressed on the PVC website, but could be expanded upon as well as discussed in person. 

We recognize that many aspects of mentoring look different depending on who is the mentor - a graduate student, a postdoc, or a faculty member. For example, a mentoring guide for faculty could help faculty to develop best practices when supervising graduate students. A mentoring guide for graduate students and postdocs supervising UROPs could include advice about helping undergraduates learn about existing areas of research, read scientific papers, or give effective presentations. Some experimental research groups already have effective hierarchical mentoring structures in place, and these groups could become leaders in discussions about what effective academic mentoring looks like for each career stage.

The Department should provide on its website a centralized list of formal programs offered on-campus to train mentors and teachers at all career stages. Examples for graduate students include the Kaufman Teaching Certificate Program and TA Days, as well as smaller events such as multicultural training, professional development, and conferences. (See also Recommendation 23b.)

We also note that many students, especially those in divisions with minimal teaching requirements, have expressed desire for additional teaching experience but report a culture in which this is discouraged in favor of research output. We recommend that the Department create more opportunities for teaching and other community mentoring involvement, besides those offered through full-time TAships. An example of this could include offering 10% TAships for students to hold office hours for undergraduate classes or provide other forms of mentorship. (See also Recommendation 21.)

 

Recommendation 14.
That the Department create detailed undergraduate student and graduate student handbooks.

Students should not have to rely exclusively on peer networks or having a conscientious advisor to receive guidance about important graduate school norms, professional benchmarks, and academic careers, outside of the pure process of science taught through lab work and theory research. Graduate students coming to MIT from departments that send fewer students to graduate school or top-tier PhD programs need more explicit guidance than students coming from universities with highly-regarded and large physics departments, where these discussions may be more baked into undergraduate education and everyday department life. Explicit discussion of scientific and academic norms is also important for the advancement of students whose parents do not work in academia or hold science degrees. Furthermore, underrepresented students may not have as much access to peer networks as non-marginalized students. 

We recommend the creation of a handbook that covers the aforementioned topics, as well as other important campus resources, information, and opportunities like those listed on the PVC website. Graduate student groups would be willing to assist the Department in creating and regularly updating these handbooks. Since conventions and expectations for different subfields of physics can vary widely, the Department should also consider having separate sections in the handbook for each subfield, or even entirely separate handbooks, depending on the extent of the differences.

 

Recommendation 15.
That the Department actively work with students and provide ongoing administrative support to establish an organization for URM graduate students.

We recommend that the Department provide funding for a URM student group at the level of GWIP, including biweekly dinners for graduate students and postdocs, a mentorship program with the undergraduates, conference funding, and other initiatives. Such an organization is vital for fostering community among underrepresented minority students across division boundaries and for providing a safe and comfortable space for discussing issues. We recommend that the Department advertise the availability of such funding on an ongoing basis every semester until a URM student group is firmly established in our Department. 

Besides funding, there are many ways in which the Department can assist in the administrative burdens in successfully establishing a new organization. Physics Department staff and faculty could help put together a mailing list and provide other types of administrative support, especially at the outset. We note that Harvard organized an event for URM graduate students in the Boston area last year; our Department could also contribute funding for such events and possibly partner with Harvard in the future in its efforts to provide support and community building for local URM graduate students. PGSC and GWIP members would also be willing to offer assistance with administrative details, such as funding opportunities that exist in parallel for GWIP-like dinners, conference grant approval, and reimbursement procedures. 

Initial steps for the Department should be to advertise this group, solicit interest, and organize a first community-building event. 

 

Recommendation 16.
That the Department create a lounge for URM graduate students.

Studies have shown that creating such spaces increases feelings of belonging among students of color. These spaces also hold broader psychological significance than that of mere gathering places -- they show students from underrepresented groups that they are welcome and valued by the Institute. In conjunction with Recommendation 15, this room would provide a private, physical space for an underrepresented minority graduate student organization to safely operate, for students to work or study, and could provide modest amenities to foster community (e.g., free tea or candy). If there are too few URM students in the Physics Department for this room to be used effectively, the Department could consider liaising with the School of Science or departments in neighboring buildings to create this lounge. There is past precedent for such a physical space; namely, the Margaret Wong Room for graduate women.

 

Recommendation 17.
That the Department make the physical spaces in which we meet and work more inclusive. 

Subtle aspects and cues from the physical environments in which we study, conduct research, and socialize with our colleagues can affect inclusivity of underrepresented physicists. 

The first aspect of the environment we would like to draw the Physics Department’s attention to are the walls of our environs, and the artwork, portraits, and physicist photo walls decorating them. We commend the Physics Department for taking a first step in the right direction in the Pappalardo Room, by adding to the collection of commendable faculty members the first photo of a woman physicist and of a person of color: Mildred Dresselhaus receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama. 

However, the still strikingly low levels of racial and gender diversity at MIT Physics mean that the photo walls of researchers in each of our individual divisions, taken in isolation, could send an unintentionally unwelcoming signal to some who visit or consider joining our community. While we fully support displaying photos of current physicists as a way of building camaraderie and community, it is worth thinking about what photos and artwork we can hang alongside these photo walls to send messages of inclusivity as well. In choosing such artwork, we also need to avoid tokenism and should look for best practices suggestions from other universities. Graduate students have found poster walls of minority physicists in other physics departments particularly effective. 

We should also consider the messages that the content of bulletin boards in the divisions can send. We can help build a culture of active involvement by listing on these boards outreach opportunities, ways to get involved in DEI work, and the related topic of science policy. These boards can also showcase upcoming DEI talks, events, and professional development. These spaces can also celebrate physicists who have made broader contributions to the community beyond pure physics research. 

We applaud the astrophysicists’ efforts to make referring to the McNair Building by name more common than referring to its number, Building 37, and we recommend that the rest of the Department follow suit. 

We commend the Physics Department for its bathroom inclusivity in some of its divisions, in having all-gender restrooms in locations near where physicists work. We have a number of suggestions to improve upon this. First, some floors and buildings still lack all-gender restrooms. Second, for making our community members and visitors to our Department feel more welcome, the Department could hang signs near all restrooms indicating where the nearest all-gender or single-stall restroom is located.   

Furthermore, many community members would appreciate if sanitary product dispensers could be added to all all-gender bathrooms as a first step. In the Center for Theoretical Physics, for example, there are multiple all-gender restrooms, but only one on each floor has sanitary products. As a second step, we note that transgender, nonbinary, and other men can also menstruate, and we should provide sanitary supplies and trash cans in men’s restrooms. Ideally, if the Department is truly invested in promoting gender equality, it would make these products available for free in its buildings as this relieves stress upon people who menstruate that their non-menstruating peers do not experience. We believe free menstrual products are a small price to pay to be more inclusive and represent a step towards normalizing the act of menstruation.

Recommendation 18.
That the Department provide MIT health insurance coverage for all incoming graduate students for the month of August, when the Department requires students to be present on campus in person for Orientation and the written qualifying exams.

Physical and mental health issues can arise at any time, including during Orientation. It is important to ensure healthcare coverage for all students when they first arrive on campus so that they do not encounter unexpectedly high bills for treatment offered at the nearest provider, MIT Medical. In their first August at MIT, graduate students have gone to MIT Medical for needs ranging from routine mental health care to emergency care for an allergic reaction. In cases, students have received bills that far exceed the price they would have otherwise paid on the MIT student health plan provided beginning in September, ranging up into thousands of dollars. These financial stresses affect everyone but could potentially cause especially undue burden on students from underrepresented backgrounds. 

Recommendation 19.
That the Department reframe the Written Exam (as it is currently called) to four required core courses with the option to try to test out up to four times. The first attempt at the Written Exam in August of a student’s arrival on campus should be framed as a diagnostic exam to help students gauge what material they need to review.

Decades-old research in psychology strongly indicates that stereotype threat, a phenomenon in which people feel at risk of conforming to stereotypes about their identity, can have strong negative impacts on performance. While anybody can suffer from stereotype threat, the impacts can be particularly devastating for minorities. Studies on African American students taking aptitude tests and women taking the Math GRE have shown that language surrounding the purpose and context of exams can mitigate or exacerbate negative effects of stereotype threat. As such, we recommend that the description of the General Examination be revised to minimize the psychological burdens associated with the process. 

We strongly emphasize that at this moment in time, we are not asking for a single change to the written exams or the process by which students satisfy those requirements --- we are only requesting a change in the way in which we name and frame that process. 

We recommend that Section 6 of the General Doctoral Guidelines be changed to read as the new text below. We also recommend that all sections of the doctoral guidelines be revised to convey more positive messaging along the lines of the below (red text indicates changes from the current text):

“General Doctoral Requirements and Oral Examination

 

During the first three years of graduate study, students must demonstrate a mature grasp of the whole field of physics and detailed knowledge of their chosen area of physics. Students should work together with their academic advisor and/or research supervisor to create (and as needed, adjust) a plan for completing required coursework and preparing for their oral examination. We only admit students that we believe are capable of passing these requirements. We have a strong desire to see every graduate student successfully make it through our program. 

 

The purpose of the core coursework and oral exam requirements are to assure the Department that its graduates have a broad background in physics and a firm understanding of a particular branch of physics. The format is based on the premise that it is valuable for each student to review their general knowledge of physics in a systematic fashion and to measure it against a set of “community” standards. Opportunities for students to make progress on these requirements are offered in the fall and spring and consist of the four core courses, the option to test out of these courses, and the oral exam. 

 

Structure and Scheduling of the Requirements

 

The Physics Department requires students to complete the General Doctoral Requirements -- four core courses and an oral examination on their field of specialty -- and the Elective Requirements -- two courses in a specialty area (three for NUPAT students) and two courses for breadth. 

 

The four core courses include Classical Mechanics (8.309), Electricity and Magnetism (8.311), Quantum Mechanics (8.321), and Statistical Mechanics (8.333). Three of these subjects are offered every fall semester (CM, QM, SM) and one is offered each spring (EM). Students are expected to complete the core courses by the end of their second January at MIT. 

 

There are two ways to meet the core requirement: either by passing the relevant course with a grade of B+ or by testing out via the corresponding Diagnostic/Advanced Standing Exam. The Department strongly urges students to take the Diagnostic Exam at the beginning of their first August. Students come to our department from a wide variety of academic backgrounds and life experiences, and every year we see diagnostic results ranging across the entire spectrum. We have students take a Diagnostic Exam to help them and their advisors determine which material the student needs to learn or review, and to help the student devise a coursework plan for their first few semesters at MIT. Diagnostic Exam scores are not indicative of academic potential or future performance; students beginning from all starting points in their first August go on to complete the Ph.D. program, do groundbreaking research, and have successful careers. 

 

Students will have the opportunity to continue trying to test out of the courses using the Advanced Standing Exam at the beginning of each semester thereafter.

 

The questions for each part of the Diagnostic/Advanced Standing Exam are prepared by committees of physics faculty members. The questions are subsequently screened by faculty who are assigned to grade each part of the exam. 

 

The Diagnostic/Advanced Standing Exams

 

The Diagnostic/Advanced Standing Exams consist of two problems in each of four areas: quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, electricity and magnetism, and classical mechanics. Demonstration of core competence in all areas may be achieved in one of two ways. A student may pass each area either by passing one of the two problems on the Diagnostic/Advanced Standing Exams, or by completing the corresponding graduate-level course (for classical mechanics, 8.309; for quantum mechanics, 8.321; for statistical mechanics, 8.333; for electricity and magnetism, 8.311) with a grade of B+ or higher. 

 

The Department strongly encourages students to attempt the Diagnostic Exams upon arrival and requires students to take the Advanced Standing Exams every semester thereafter to help them and their advisors gauge their progress towards completing the core requirements. All students must satisfy all four components of the Core Course requirement by the end of the January of their second year.”

 

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